Scare over breast cancer test recall in Bournemouth

Hundreds of women have been recalled for breast cancer screenings over fears
that a junior doctor working at a hospital failed to follow proper
procedures.

When examined the patients were told they did not require a follow upPhoto: PA

5:47PM BST 04 May 2013

Royal Bournemouth Hospital in Dorset has asked 272 patients to return to the breast clinic for reassessment.

Consultants running the breast clinic at the hospital raised concerns about the doctor, who is no longer working with the Trust, over the way initial assessments of some patients may have been carried out.

The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust there was no evidence of any harm to the patients who were seen by the doctor, but that they were recalling some patients as a precaution.

They said the patients affected attended the clinic between January 2011 and July 2012. At the time they were told they did not require a follow up, but were being asked to return for “further consultation and examination”.

Tony Skene, Consultant Breast Surgeon, said: “Although we have found no evidence of any harm, the safety of our patients is our number one priority.

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“This is why as a precaution we are making additional contact with some patients and offering a further consultation.

“The vast majority of patient who have attended the breast clinic at Bournemouth during this time remain unaffected.

“We do, however, realise that for those patients that we do recall this may lead to additional anxiety and we apologise for the distress that this may cause.

“There are no other concerns.”

A statement released by the hospital trust said that the assessments by the junior doctor “potentially did not meet our usual high standards”.

The recalled patients will now be re-assessed by a different doctor.

They said patients affected would be offered an appointment quickly and would be provided with a telephone support if they needed it in the meantime.

Last year 79 patients were recalled to hospitals in Nottinghamshire after the Care Quality Commission, which monitors standards in hospitals, sent inspectors into Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust over concerns patients had been given inappropriate treatment due to mistakes in breast cancer tissue tests.